Comma (punctuation)

The comma (,) is an orthographic punctuation mark that is represented with a form identical to that of an apostrophe and/or a closing single quote, only that, unlike both signs, the body of the comma goes at the low end of the baseline and the tail goes at the top of the descending stem. In Spanish, it is always written attached to the word or the sign that precedes it and separated by a space from the word or the sign that follows it.

In general, its appearance indicates a brief pause within the statement that makes up a text; consequently, being the punctuation mark that imposes the least degree of pause in its reading, this is much less than that of any other sign. Although in some cases the use of the comma in a certain place of the statement may depend on the taste or the intention of the writer, there are commas that must be present in a writing so that it can be correctly read and interpreted, so its use it is considered normative in specific situations.

In the same way that the use of the comma is, in some cases, optional when writing texts, in the same way, its presence does not strictly respond to the need to pause while reading, and vice versa, there are short pauses in reading that should not be graphically marked by commas, although in practice it is not pronounced as such.

Language uses in Spanish

Delimitation of paragraphs

For the delimitation of subsections, two commas are used: one attached to the end of the last word before the start of the subsection and another attached to the end of the last word of the subsection. In some cases, this use can be alternated with that of the dash or that of the parentheses, however, opting for the comma means that its degree of isolation is much less than that of all the others. There are four uses of the comma for these cases:

• Any type of precision, commentary or expression in a statement. For example:

Anyone, even you, will not be saved from it.

There is no way for peace, according to Gandhi, but peace is the way.

• Any expression or prayer without a strong syntactic link with the rest of the elements in question. For example:

His cake, exquisite flavors!, was the most delicious I've ever tasted.

• Explanatory aposition, also called non-restrictive aposition, is an addition after the subject of a sentence in which more information is presented concerning the statement; all explanatory statements go between commas. For example:

Carolina, my friend, just got her first job.

Paris, the capital of France, is located north of that country.

• Adjectives or explanatory prayers postponed to a noun. It should not be confused with a specification (also called restrictive), which do not carry a comma.

The house, which is glued to the sea, is made of stone.
(It is understood that we speak of a specific house and only want to add more information about it).

The house that is attached to the sea is made of stone.
(It is understood that, among all possible houses in a certain region, it is specifically speaking of a house in question.

Separation of elements within a statement

Non-complex numbering

Whenever there is a numbering (also called a list) that is not complex (that is, that within itself it does not include more commas or that it is very long), the comma will be used to separate the elements of it. For example:

I have dogs, cats, rabbits and birds.

• In the event that there is a conjunction—since this list is complete—as a rule, the coma is omitted in the penultimate element. For example:

I just want to get there, eat and go.

• In the event that there is no conjunction—since only some elements were chosen and not all of them—in addition to the need to end with suspensive points or the word et cetera (or in its default, the abbreviation etc.), the coma will be noted in its penultimate element. For example:

I wanted everything you could buy: expensive chocolate, linen sheets, expensive watches, collection paintings, import jewelry...

Any form of discrimination, whether on the basis of sex, race, religion, political or social posture, sexual orientation, economic situation, etc., is prohibited in the country.

Correct uses of the comma before the conjunction and

There are tendencies that admit its use prior to a conjunction, such as the following cases:

• In the last element of a series of data separated by point and comma:

In the drawer put the papers; on the desk, the monitor; on the box, the discs, and on another piece of furniture, the printer.

• When what is written after a series of elements starts with the conjunction and but it doesn't belong to the series:

He bought a bottle of wine, cheese, purple and bread, and called his friends.

• When the conjunction and is a synonym of but, is admissible, but not necessary, the prior use of a coma:

He studied a lot for his exam, and he didn't approve.

• Conjunctive or adverbial locutions, whatever their position, are preceded and followed by a coma, such as: also, Obviously. (and all the adverbs finished in -mind), in effect, I mean,, finally, therefore, However and others in the same class.

Give me that soon, I mean, if that's okay.

Vocative comma

When there is a vocative in a statement, that is, any form in which the recipient of the message is called, it is always written isolated with commas. In the event that it goes to the beginning of the sentence, it must be followed by the comma, regardless of whether or not there is a question mark or exclamation mark; in the event that it goes in the middle of the sentence, it must have the comma attached to the first sentence before the vocative and the second comma attached after the last word of the vocative; in the event that it goes to the end of the sentence, it will only be written next to the last word before the vocative, if it is within a direct interrogative or exclamatory sentence, it is written within the question or exclamation marks respectively. For example:

Sebastian, come here!
(Example at the beginning of the statement)

You know, you, who's here?
(Example in the midst of the statement)

Yes, sir.
(Example at the end of the statement)

This usage should not be confused with the subject-predicate structure, which is not separated by a comma:

Carlos went there.

Elliptical comma

Another use is known as an elliptical comma, which is used to replace the verb in cases where it is omitted because it has already been mentioned before or is understood.

Pamela is free; Patricia, too.
(The coma replaces) That's it.)

Victor is thin; Pamela, tall.
(The coma replaces) That's it.)

Marcelo lost his wallet; Juan, his backpack; Ricardo, the camera.
(The coma substitutes for lost)

Hyperbatic coma

The comma is also used when the logical order of the complements of the hyperbatic comma sentence is reversed. For example:

With this snow, we'll never get there.

As Augustus appeared at the door of his house he extended his right arm with his palm hand down and open, and directing his eyes to heaven he stood a moment in this statuary and august attitude.

NieblaMiguel de Unamuno.

Here there was no gothic vault, no window with precious labors, nor the dark background, the mysterious effects of light with which the artifice of the painting presents us the hides of those boring chemicals, which, wrapped in illustrious webs, are perpetually inclined upon a mamoth full of scribbles.

The shadowBenito Pérez Galdós.

Although the main function of the comma has always been defined as a slight pause in a sequence of words, there will be some cases in which it will not be necessary to indicate with the comma certain brief pauses in the reading.

In this regard, the Ortografía de la lengua española points out as an example, the commas that are used between subject and predicate, When Marcelo arrived / he was so changed that everyone was surprised. In this sentence there is no need for a comma, even though when pronounced there is a pause and a tonal inflection.

Mandatory and optional use

There are cases in which the use of the comma depends on who writes, the tone and style he wants to give to what he has written. The pause that the comma can provide in these cases does not alter the meaning and the message that the sentence wants to convey.

• Roberto and I were going to the party(,) but(,) at the end(,) we changed our minds.
• When my aunt comes to my house(,) sometimes(,) we go shopping.
• At ten in the morning(,) I have classes.
• From an early age, Adolfo showed interest in music.

In the examples cited, the use of the comma is optional because its absence will not affect the meaning of the statement.

In obligatory uses, the opposite happens, the use of the comma in these cases serves to distinguish the different meanings that a sentence can have.

• I proferred the speech, as they told me (I was told to make a speech.)
• I proferred the speech as they told me (They told me how to make the speech.)

In the above examples, the use or absence of the comma can completely alter the meaning of the sentence. That is, the comma has a distinctive function because it allows differentiating the various meanings that a sentence can have.

Mathematical usage in Spanish

Use of coma as a separator of thousands. Use of coma as decimal separator. Mixed use of both forms.

Not all Latin American countries use the same convention regarding the writing of mathematical signs for the division of large numerical figures. Semicolons are used as decimal separators and this is sometimes a cause for confusion and disagreement.

Thousands separator

Within the Hispanic area, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama have the habit of using the comma as a thousands separator in figures greater than four digits; for example: $1,000.

However, the RAE recommends not using the comma as a thousands separator and, instead, using a blank space (or a hard space, if referring to computing), in addition to separating them from five figures.

Decimal point

It is a symbol used to indicate the separation between the integer part and the fraction part of a decimal number. The International System of Units (SI) currently admits two symbols: the comma and the point. However, the 2003 decision of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) on the decimal separator reminds that there are other international standards that establish the comma as the only sign in all languages. Although the SI also reaffirms the validity of the comma or point as elements to indicate decimal figures, and not as grouping symbols to facilitate reading; «The numbers can be grouped in threes to facilitate reading; but neither commas nor periods should be used in the spaces between groups”. However, the use of both is accepted by both the Royal Spanish Academy and the International Office of Weights and Measures, responsible for the International System of Units (in its Resolution 10 of the 22nd General Conference on Weights and Measures of 2003).

Computer uses

In the common character encoding systems Unicode and ASCII, character 44 (in hexadecimal system 0x2C) corresponds to the comma symbol. The HTML numeric character reference is ,.

In many computer languages, commas are used as a field delimiter to separate function arguments, to separate elements in a list, and to perform data designation in multiple variables at once.

In the C programming language, the comma symbol is an operator that evaluates its first argument (which can have side effects) and then returns the value of its second evaluated argument. This is useful for statements and macros.

In Smalltalk and APL, the comma operator is used to concatenate collections, including strings. In APL, it is also used monadically to rearrange the elements of an array into a list.

In Prolog, the comma is used to denote logical conjunction ("and", English: and).

The Comma Separated Values (CSV) format is very commonly used to exchange text data between database and spreadsheet formats.

Alternative representations

• 

  In Arabic its comma equivalent is presented with the same symbol but turned as in a mirror.

• 

  In Spanish braille is represented by the point position in place 2.

• 

  In morse code is represented by two long sounds, two short sounds and two long sounds.

• Morse code sound.